I will protect you
by ssa123
Summary: Liv vows to protect Barba from the death threats but can she protect herself from falling for him.
1. Chapter 1

"Liv hear me out, please."

Even he could tell he was begging but he just had to make me listen to him, had to make her see that he hadn't done it on purpose. He was desperate. How was he supposed to get his point across when every time he walked into a room she walked out, when she had something to show him relating to a case she sent Carisi or Rollins. He really hadn't meant to put her in that situation, one which would risk her career or her safety but right now he needed his friend and he needed her help. Ever since the grand jury with the three detectives he had been receiving death threats, some to his office and others to his home. Usually he wouldn't let something like this bother him but since he apparently had no friends left in the NYPD he didn't feel as confident as he used to.

"You've got 5 minutes before I have to be back at the precinct."

"I never meant to put you in an uncomfortable situation, never meant to place you in an awkward position with your colleagues but I know you and I know you never would have taken that shot. You're too good for that, you value human life too much and I had to make you say that without actually saying the words. Believe it or not I was trying to protect you and if you're not still pissed at me I was wondering if maybe you could return the favour?" he asked her, causing her to look at him strangely.

"Protect you from what exactly Barba?"

He released a heavy breath "For the last couple of months, since the grand jury, I've been receiving death threats. Texts, calls, letters, I even had a man come to me in person, I didn't know what to do considering the timing of them and I didn't know who I could trust. With you so angry at me I didn't want to have to put you in the situation of choosing between you colleagues and me again."

He pulled his phone and handed it to her, showing her the many texts he had received as of late each one more graphic and more threatening than the last. He could see the worry on her face as she made her way through, deep down he knew he should have told her sooner but he thought it would have been over by now. She was screenshotting the messages and sending them to herself, the worry and anger growing with each one.

"Last night," he stared as she was still reading " I got home to find this taped to my door" he said handing her a letter he had removed from her desk.

She took the note from him that read _"You wont ever be safe. Not here. Not anywhere."._ She read it over and over again and she was shaking now. This meant they knew where he lived, they knew things about him that they shouldn't know and it made her heart ache at the thought of what this could mean for him. The idea of him getting hurt made her feel things she wasn't ready to decipher just yet and she wasn't about to let that happen, she would protect him if it was the last thing she would do.

"I'm going to assign you a detail while youre at work, and then in the evenings you will stay with me and Noah, no arguments The team and I will investigate this alongside our other cases but trust me on this Rafael we will not let anyone hurt you."

He had that determination in her voice before and it made him feel safer, he knew that when she said something she meant it and if she said she wouldn't let anything happen to him he believed her.

"Liv I cant stay with you. What if they come after me at your place, what about Noah? I wont be the reason he isn't safe in his own home. I can't do that" he told her

She was shaking her head before he had even finished.

"You're family. We protect our family. If someone were to come to my home it would end very badly them. I can protect my son and I can protect you so just let me. I'll have a patrol car drive you home for some things after work and then straight over to my place. We'll get to the bottom of this and then you're free to do what you want but until then youll do as you're told, as foreign as that concept is to you. Ok?"

"ok"

This was going to be an interesting couple of days, weeks, months, he wasn't sure. But a small part of him was actually looking forward to it.

 **Im not too sure if I should carry this on. Please let me know what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

She had just finished putting out dinner for her and Noah when she heard a knock at her door, knowing who it would be she grabbed a third plate on her way over to the door. She opened the door and there he was standing in front of her, more casual then she had ever seen with 2 bags and what looked like 5 suits.

"Hey, come in. Get yourself settled I was just serving dinner. Noah is really excited to see you"

As if on cue the young boy bounded down the hallway towards them screaming "Uncle Rafa" and he threw himself at the unsuspecting ADA, who much to Livs surprise caught the boy with ease and spun him slightly. Placing the boy back on the ground he allowed himself to be led to the table where his meal was waiting, and Liv followed closely behind them watching as her son talked rapidly to the bemused man trying desperately to keep up. She made a mental note to get more information out of him once Noah had gone to bed, to get everything she could to catch the person or people behind the threats. She wished, even though they weren't talking, he'd have come to her sooner and then maybe it would never have to come this.

"I hope this is ok, Noah is going through a rather difficult stage but pasta goes down a treat" she told him, looking nervous at the less than substantial meal.

"it's perfect" it was said with a genuine smile and not his usual smirk.

Dinner went down easily for everyone and when bath time rolled around for Noah the knowledge that uncle rafa would still be there in the morning was enough to keep any tantrums at bay. When it came to bedtime thought Noah insisted that Rafael rad him his story before bed and that mommy just kiss him goodnight, she supposed it was the newness of having someone else here at this time. Either way once she was past the jealous insecurity that she was an awful mother it was actually quite sweet to see.

She was waiting for him in her front room with a glass of scotch and a list of questions she wanted to ask him, hoping that the former would loosen his tongue making him more willing to answer the latter. She knew he was a guarded person in the years theyd worked together he'd revealed very little about himself, except when required like when they were investigating Alex Munos, even then she could tell he wasn't giving her everything. She heard him coming down the hallway and took a gulp of her wine to prepare herself.

"Well he is out for the count," Rafael announced upon re-entering the room "I'm sorry it took so long but just had to know the ending" he said

Liv laughed knowing full well that whatever book Barba had read Noah would have known it from cover to cover like he did every book in that room of his. She saw him shrug at her as he took a seat opposite her on the couch and pick up his glass of scotch.

"So, death threats huh? Didn't think to mention that one sooner" she asked

"You were pissed at me. I didn't want to bother you until I knew they were serious which im guessing they are"

"Whether I'm pissed at you or not Barba, you tell me things. I can help you so you don't hide them from me" she told him firmly "When did they start getting more serious?"

"It was about two weeks ago, there was letter delivered to my apartment it had no address on the front just my name so I figured it must have been hand delieverd, it wasn't overly malicious mainly just a 'we're watching you' type thing but then another one appeared a few days ago after a couple of rather in-depth text messages and hang up calls and I knew it was more than I thought it was. Two days ago, a man approached me in the elevator at court and told me he would shoot me where I stood unless I promised to back off the case and to not take it trial if that were the way in which the case were heading. I told him it was out of my control at this point, after the grand jury indictment at which point he stepped closer to me, pulled out a knife he must have well concealed and told me to make it within my control and then today I told you after the other note."

"You got a hand delivered threatening note to your home and you waited two weeks to tell me? Are you kidding me? Did you want to get yourself killed? Whether you thought it serious or not that's one hell of a gamble to take Rafael Barba." She admonished him and he actually had the good sense to look guilty.

"I am sorry I just didn't want to guilt you into talking to me again, then this afternoon I got a text telling me my friend Lieutenant Benson couldn't protect me. I don't know how they knew I spoke to you but they did" he told her

"I've updated the team and they're all obviously going to put all the spare time they have into this, as will I and between us we will get to the bottom of this. And until then unfortunately you are stuck with a couple of extra roommates. Hope you don't mind."

"Of course I don't, I'm really grateful you're letting me stay here it's saving me a fortune in the hotel bills I would have had to pay and besides is there anywhere safer than with the Olivia Benson." He joked.

Truth be told he did feel safer staying with her but the text he received earlier that day was still plaguing his mind, if they knew who he was speaking to and what he was doing odds are they knew where he was and if these men really were dangerous last thing he wanted to do was put Liv and Noah in danger. He wouldn't let that happen, he'd give himself up before it even came to that. So when his phone beeped again telling him to enjoy his night with Lieutenant he cleared it away and placed it in his pocket, vowing that while Liv was protecting him he would do that same for her.


End file.
